No forks?! Did you know Pilgrims didn’t use forks? They used spoons, knives and their fingers.

Abraham Lincoln first declared Thanksgiving a national holiday. Sarah Josepha Hale, an American magazine editor, persuaded Abraham Lincoln to declare Thanksgiving a national holiday. She is also the author of the popular nursery rhyme “Mary Had a Little Lamb.”

How MUCH turkey? More than 90% of Americans eat turkey on Thanksgiving Day, 50% percent put their stuffing inside the turkey and more than 40 million green bean casseroles are served on Thanksgiving.

Hens and Toms. A female turkey is called a hen and makes a clucking sound. A male turkey is know as a “Tom” and gobbles. At maturity, the average turkey shows off 3,500 feathers.

Macy’s Day Parade. The annual Thanksgiving Day parade tradition began in 1924 and involved a menagerie of live animals like camels, bears, and elephants. The large helium balloons replaced the live animals in 1927. To fill the 15 balloon floats it takes 300,000 cubic feet of helium — that’s 3.4 Olympic-sized swimming pools!

Cranberries and Birds? Cranberries got their name because people thought the stem of a plant looked like a crane.